Fifty years after Uppsala 1968, the pilgrimage continueshttps://blog.oikoumene.org/posts/fifty-years-after-uppsala-1968-the-pilgrimage-continues
I was not yet born in 1968, but I have heard the stories: How the World Council of Churches Assembly in Uppsala, Sweden changed the world church agenda and put focus on social justice and equality. To live and to practice the Gospel. To show the reality and embrace of the Incarnation.I was not yet born in 1968, but I have heard the stories: How the World Council of Churches (WCC) Assembly in Uppsala, Sweden changed the world church agenda and put focus on social justice and equality. To live and to practice the Gospel. To show the reality and embrace of the Incarnation.

My parents met in the ecumenical movement in the mid-60s; my father was a United Methodist and my mother came from the Mission Covenant Church in Sweden. Ecumenism was at our kitchen table and my parents taught me that it is more important to attend the nearest church where you could meet your everyday friends, than the particular label or tradition that church may have. Ecumenism is practical.

My father passed away before the Uniting Church in Sweden was formed in 2011. But he would have greeted it with joy. This church is old and yet new at the same time, as it was formed from the United Methodist Church in Sweden, the Baptist Union and the Mission Covenant Church. These old Swedish churches had been part of the grass root movement for more than 100 years, but took on a new form together to meet the new and renewed challenges for the world.

Our vision reads; The Uniting Church is a church for the fullness of Life, where the encounter with Jesus Christ transforms – me, you and the world.

The encounter that transforms. First myself, then my neighbor and eventually the whole world - all through Jesus Christ. And I think that is where my parents started their pilgrimage, to walk, work and pray together. They commit themselves to say “no” to fear of the unknown, and “yes” to willingly being transformed to be able to see the world through the eyes and work of Christ.

Neither of them were involved in the ecumenical movement in an official way, they did not travel all around the world and they did not know very many famous people. But they were loyal to the call from Uppsala 1968. To follow the Lord who said: “Behold I am making something new.” Their ecumenical movement and pilgrimage was practical and deeply rooted in the history and the diaconal call all around.

I am thankful for my personal legacy but the future of the ecumenical movement starts here and now, and it starts with me and you. It continues the pilgrimage for justice, peace, equality and freedom as we join in and still follow the call from Uppsala 1968.

In the Uniting Church in Sweden we are currently preparing for a climate fast during Lent 2019, we are working and planning on how to follow up on the #metoo call within our Swedish churches from last year, connecting it to the Thursdays in Black Campaign and other things. We still face challenges, but when we walk, work and pray together, we encourage one another - just like my parents – to be transformed by Jesus and to continue the pilgrimage together. Welcome to join in!

]]>No publisherGunilla Ikponmwosajust community of women and menFellowPilgrimsWhatIsAPilgrimagespiritual life2018-11-08T15:55:00ZNews ItemOur hope and our prayerhttps://blog.oikoumene.org/posts/our-hope-and-our-prayer
50 years after the 1968 Uppsala Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Rev. Olle Alkholm, vice president of the Uniting Church in Sweden, shares a personal reflection, based on his only memory from that year. 50 years after the 1968 Uppsala Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Rev. Olle Alkholm, vice president of the Uniting Church in Sweden, shares a personal reflection, based on his only memory from that year. He first shared it speaking to participants in the Ecumenical Weekend, in Uppsala, November 2018.

The little boy comes home from his scout activities and finds his mother crying in the garden behind the house.

She is standing there together with a neighbour and the neighbour is also crying.

The mothers try to explain the situation for the boy-scout but the explanation is too hard to understand when the boy is hungry and ten years old.

It’s late summer in 1968 and the Warsaw pact has just invaded Czechoslovakia. That’s the reason for the tears in the garden.

The little boy gets a sandwich and a glass of milk and the boy is me. My only personal memory from 1968 is my mother crying in the garden.

Some of you remember a lot. Some of you were not yet born. Some come from other parts of the world. In 1968 you probably had other news than angry students in France, a demonstration in Sweden against the war in Vietnam and a big ecumenical gathering.

Most of the people in the world today have no relation to the invasion, or to Uppsala 68 or to Martin Luther King. At the same time history is connected to the future.

And the big arena is always in a way connected to the small world where a mother or a father is crying in the garden.

We are church and therefore we try to embrace both a political and a personal perspective. The living God is caring for justice and peace and at the same time, as we read in many churches in Sweden, this special day: God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

This is our hope and this is our prayer.

Read more about the commemoration of 50 years since the WCC Assembly in Uppsala, 1968:

]]>No publisherOlle AlkholmChristian UnityFellowPilgrimsPilgrInspire2018-11-08T14:50:00ZNews ItemDeepavali lights celebrate the victory of justicehttps://blog.oikoumene.org/posts/deepavali-lights-celebrate-the-victory-of-justice
The festival of lights called Deepavali (or Diwali) in India is deeply connected with the idea of hope, aspiration and abundance. Deepavali is the celebration of victory that is promised to a person who leads a morally responsible life. It is a victory of justice, represented by the oil lamps that cast away the darkness of oppression.When the World Council of Churches Assembly in 2013 called for a pilgrimage of justice and peace, it explicitly addressed not only Christians but invited people of good will everywhere to join. It recognized the gifts our interfaith partners have received from God and challenged them to engage them in transforming actions. That's why, alongside our tradition of offering greetings to inter-religious partners during major festivals, we have started inviting scholars and believers from different traditions to reflect on those festivals from the perspective of justice and peace. Read also last year's post about Diwali by Prof. Anantanand Rambachan and the greetings from the WCC general secretary to those celebrating the festival.

The festival of lights called Deepavali (or Diwali) in India is deeply connected with the idea of hope, aspiration and abundance in India. The term refers to “deepa” which means the lamps and “avali” which means rows or lines. The mythological stories around the origins differ from region to region but across India, the festivities are connected with lighting of lamps in a row to cast away the darkness and despair.

The lamps that indicate victory are not symbolic of any battle of the powerful over the weak, but of dharma over adharma (right over wrong). Deepavali is the celebration of victory that is promised to a person who leads a morally responsible life. It is a victory of justice, represented by the oil lamps that cast away the darkness of oppression.

Many of the stories of victory around this festival represent the freedom of oppressed people from someone who did not follow the moral life. For instance, Narakasura had trapped many women in his palace and Krishna killed him in battle, freeing all of them. This is celebrated as Chaturdasi. People should celebrate the victory remembering that ultimately in the divine plan, the just person is rewarded and oppressors are punished.

Another aspect of Deepavali is connected with the celebration of wealth and abundance in the form of Lakshmi pooja, a worship of the goddess of wealth. Many shops also open their new accounts and new businesses on this day. Though this symbol has degenerated into the idea of material wealth and extreme show of opulence, the celebration of hope and happiness on this day is connected with the dignity of abundance.

Being rich is always connected with inequality, exploitation and poverty of other people. But the rituals of bathing, wearing new clothes, and eating savouries and sweets on this day symbolises that everyone should aspire for and understand the experience of abundance. Traditionally after lighting the lamp in front of the deities, one lights a lamp near the garbage heap for the wealth goddess is also supposed to reside in the waste. Many people have forgotten this custom that indicates to us that abundance is not of the material world but it is abundance of the spirit.

Abundance of the spirit is a celebration of shared joy, happiness and forgetting the cares and worries of life for a night of exuberant lights. For people of faith, hope and the promise of light can drive away the darkness. As each house lights up its front with rows of lights, we find all the houses together light up the street. The community that shares its spiritual abundance truly celebrates Deepavali.

]]>No publisherMeera BaindurJusticeAndPeaceInter-religious2018-11-06T14:40:00ZNews ItemLord, when did we see you hungry?https://blog.oikoumene.org/posts/lord-when-did-we-see-you-hungry
This reflection was originally presented during morning prayers in the chapel of the Ecumenical Centre, on 27 August 2018, at the beginning of the week when Canada and the United States are being remembered in the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle.

Gospel lesson: Matthew 25:31-40

I am a story teller rather than a preacher and so this morning I will tell you some stories – stories that I hope will inspire us throughout the week.

There is a special relationship between Canada and Haiti. Over the years, many Haitians have emigrated to Canada, particularly to Montreal where French is the dominant language. Recently, a stream of Haitian refugees has crossed the border from the USA into Canada, chased out of the United States by threats of deportation back to Haiti. It is particularly poignant therefore that Zoughbi read the Matthew passage this morning. Your region, Zhoughbi, is home to so many refugees and displaced people in comparison to the numbers Canada has received.

In Matthew 25, Jesus tells us what is expected of us as children of God. The list of actions by which we will be judged deepens my understanding and my appreciation of the actions of people I met during a visit to Haiti in January 2017.

At the time, I was responsible for ministries in French in the United Church of Canada. My church is seeking to create connections with Haitian newcomers and so I made the trip to learn more about the context from which they come. While there I traveled with field staff of the Institut Culturel Karl Lévesque (ICKL) a popular education and community development organisation founded by a Haitian Jesuit priest that is supported by the United Church of Canada.

The three stories I will tell you this morning are about women I met in Haiti and their relationship to their children and to their communities. I invite you to listen to them with the words of Matthew 25 in your hearts and minds; to listen to them with the images of people you have met in other parts of the world whose stories are tragically similar; and to listen as Christians seeking to live faithfully in response to Jesus’ message to us.

Story One

I get to know Joanna and her son Jacob soon after my arrival at the Methodist Guest House in Port-au-Prince. Joanna is a diaconal minister in a large and prosperous United Methodist congregation in a community south of Washington, DC. Her job focuses on the needs of the city’s marginalized people. Jacob is a university student who is questioning the church. He wants to know what good it does. He’s not convinced that being a person of faith makes a positive difference in the world. In short he is having a crisis of faith. So his mother has come with him for a week of volunteer work on a project with the Haitian Methodist Church. She wants her son to see Christians in action. She wants him to see how Christians make a difference.

The day after we meet, I leave for a field trip to the Cayes region that was hit hard by Hurricane Matthew in October 2016. I leave promising to bring stories back from the field.

Three days later I am back after a series of remarkable encounters with peasants in remote villages. I am eager to share those stories and to hear what Joanna and Jacob have experienced and learned. Things have not gone well for them: the project had really involved only two days’ work and they have been mainly stuck in the guest house apart from attending an evening of speeches and choral performances in Créole and French (languages that neither of them speak) and a three-hour church service (also in Créole and French) held in a packed and stifling sanctuary.

My heart aches for Joanna, a mother seeking to accompany her son into adult engagement with the church and renewed faith in Christianity. The stories of two Haitian women I met on this pilgrimage of encounter are for Joanna and for Jacob, if he still has the patience to listen.

Story Two

I am with a group of peasants in a small village that was hit hard by Hurricane Matthew. We are gathered in a cement house next to a destroyed church. Guy, an ICKL field staff member is guiding the discussion.

The room is dim. Group members sit on benches on three sides of the building. I ask people to tell me what they experienced on the night of the hurricane. The idea is that people can choose whether to speak or to remain silent so I am surprised when Guy urges a woman to speak. She is thin and may be 40 though she looks 60. She looks anxious and is twisted in knots like a pretzel. Yet she finally agrees to speak. The group goes silent. All around the walls there is palpable discomfort and concern at this choice of speaker.

Her name is Seïde Ismène. At first her voice is nearly inaudible but as her story spills out, she speaks more and more quickly and more loudly as if in a trance of remembering.

Seïde tells us how her 17-year old son died on the night of the hurricane when a wall collapsed on him as he slept at a friend’s house. She weeps as she relives her wild flight through the torrential rain in the pitch black to tear the wall off him with her bare hands and hold his broken body in her arms. I think of Michelangelo’s Pietà – Mary holding her adult son’s body, overwhelmed by the grief only a mother can feel for a son whose life has ended tragically. And I hear the words of the psalmist in Psalm 130:

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.

Lord, hear my voice!

my soul waits for the Lord

more than those who watch for the morning,

more than those who watch for the morning.

The people in the room have heard this story many times and they don’t know what to do. Her pain is far deeper than the pain of poverty and debt. She comes to group meetings and shares her story time and again. And the peasants listen. It is a compassionate though helpless solidarity. Over time her trauma will likely subside. Perhaps she will even find some healing and rest. What is certain is that the group will be listening. The peasants are acting on Matthew 25. They are visiting her in the prison of her grief.

Story Three

In that same cement room with its dim lighting, with people lining the walls, faces shining with perspiration in the heat, yet determined to tell us their stories, I ask my second question. This is a group of community leaders, part of a national movement of peasants. I ask them: What are your plans for rebuilding the community?

One man says that at this time of the year he would usually be getting ready to be part of a community work team to clear and plant fields. But he is weary. He can’t sleep. Hunger and worry keep him awake. He admits he may not have the courage and strength to be part of the collective teamwork this year.

Then Marthe Lindor speaks up. She is a robust woman, strong, assured, with opinions, projects and plans. She has no illusions. The Haitian government will not come forward to support to farmers struggling to feed their families until they can once again get crops off their fields. She knows too that climate change means seasonal patterns have been disrupted. Rains no longer come at a predictable time. An irrigation system is needed to run water from hills across the valley and up to this small village. Nothing will happen though unless peasants with the support of ICKL organize to bring pressure to bear on the government. Meanwhile, Marthe is not going to let her community slump into the lethargy of despair. She is a rallying voice, a prophet calling her people to action.

She is today’s equivalent of the persistent widow harassing the judge until he finally gives in because she just won’t go away. She is saying we must find food for the hungry and water for the thirsty as it is written in the bible.

It is possible for Christians in Canada to reach out to people like Seïde and Marthe by supporting partner organizations like ICKL and through our church’s active involvement in the World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance. In this way Haitian Christians and Canadian Christians are able to respond to the needs of the hungry, the thirsty, the lonely, prisoners and strangers. This is what I want Jacob to see: God present in the world and proof of how God works through us, the church, in all its many forms.

May our faith move us into action, may hope emerge from our prayers, may the bible be a constant source of teaching and direction for us in our work and in our personal lives as people of faith.

Amen.

]]>No publisherKristine Greenaway2018-10-30T13:42:43ZNews Item‘Keeping hope a challenge’, as Al Walaja homes suffer demolitionhttps://blog.oikoumene.org/posts/keeping-hope-a-challenge-as-al-walaja-homes-suffer-demolition
“You are never safe, you never know when they will come.” When Israel issued Ilham with a demolition order for her home in the Palestinian village of Al Walaja last month, she knew that it was not an empty threat.“You are never safe, you never know when they will come.”

When Israel issued Ilham with a demolition order for her home in the Palestinian village of Al Walaja last month, she knew that it was not an empty threat.

She, her husband and her three young daughters have been keeping many of their belongings packed in bags for weeks, as when the Israeli soldiers come they only give people a short amount of time to remove their possessions, an hour at best.

Ilham paid a 30,000 NIS (€7,000) fee to prevent an immediate demolition. However, it was only postponed for a few weeks, at which point the Israelis came and destroyed their home.

The bedroom for two of Ilham’s daughters before the demolition. Photo credit: Former EA Joseana/WCC-EAPPI

Ilham’s cousin Mysa’a witnessed the demolition. She describes how Ilham “chose everything for her daughters with happiness, with hope” and that her home “was her dream”. She says home demolitions stop Palestinians from progressing with their lives. “There is no future, there is no next step, just rebuilding. In Palestine, there are no dreams.”

Ilham’s home was one of four that the Israelis destroyed on this particular morning in Al Walaja. A total of 36 people were living in these homes, including 18 children.

According to the UN, the Israeli authorities demolished or seized 197 homes and other structures in Palestine in the first half of 2018.

Israel says the demolitions take place because the Palestinians do not have Israeli permits to build, while the UN reports that obtaining such permits is “virtually impossible”, with only 1.5% of applications from 2010 to 2014 being approved.

So in order to have somewhere to live, many in Palestine build their homes without permits.

]]>No publisherEcumenical Accompanierhuman rightsJusticeAndPeaceSolidarity with churches in the Middle EastEAPPIFellowPilgrimsHuman dignity2018-10-12T10:41:45ZNews ItemReflections of Ecumenical Accompaniers: being present, bearing witnesshttps://blog.oikoumene.org/posts/reflections-of-ecumenical-accompaniers-being-present-bearing-witness
Ecumenical Accompaniers walk children to school, accompany shepherds, serve as a presence of peace, and share what they see. They are the fruit of the WCC-EAPPI, and offer reflections from a variety of settings and the life around them.Ecumenical Accompaniers (EAs) walk children to school, accompany shepherds, serve as a presence of peace, and share what they see. They are the fruit of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine in Israel (WCC-EAPPI).

Below are reflections from a variety of EAs who are in diverse settings. They offer very personal perspectives on life around them.

What farmers are facing

One EA describes what one couple, who are farmers, face in order to take care of their land.

Suhaila and Naim, an elderly couple, live 100 metres from their farmland but, because of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, they must travel 20 kilometres to get there.

Rather than simply walk to the end of their road, Suhaila and Naim travel around 20 kilometres and pass through an Israeli military checkpoint to reach their land. They make this journey every day to care for their trees and beehives. On a good day, driving this route takes around half an hour. If soldiers delay them with extra questioning and checks, the journey takes up to two hours.

“We are doomed to eternal suffering by the separation wall,” says Suhaila. “The most important aspect for me is losing my best recreation activity”. Before the construction of the separation barrier, she went to their land several times a day whenever she felt upset to make her feel better. Being blocked from her land, she says, is deeply painful.

Suhaila asks that we “do not make both eyes blind to political affairs and sleep on our suffering in Palestine”.

Azzun: the village of the imprisoned children

An EA describes one family’s challenges in the village of Azzun.

Salaam is a mother of seven; she has five boys and two girls. So far, three of her five boys have been arrested by Israeli Security Forces. There is Ala, the eldest one. He was 17 years old when he was arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison for throwing stones. He is now 26, happily married and with a lovely baby son. There is Amir, a 21-year-old shy young man who has problems keeping eye contact. The family says he has special needs; sometimes he stares at things for a while. He did the same the day he got arrested. He was a street cleaner at the time and whilst working he stared up at a military watchtower where Israeli soldiers were sitting. His family said the soldiers probably thought he was up to something, so they arrested him. He was charged for throwing stones and was in prison for one year. He was released a month ago and the whole town celebrated his release. We were happy to share that special moment with the family. Only two days later, Salaam’s youngest son – Ahmed – was arrested in the middle of the night. Ahmed is only 15 years old. Heavily armed soldiers broke into the house and arrested him out of his bedroom. This is the third time Ahmed has been arrested. Now the family is grieving again. Ahmed was charged with throwing stones, a very common charge for Palestinian children. The soldiers say they have evidence of the event, but neither the family nor the lawyer of Ahmed has access to that evidence. Ahmed told his family he didn’t do it.

Salaam and her family are not an exception. This is the reality for the people of Azzun, a town with approximately 4,000 inhabitants and the highest number of child prisoners in Palestine after East Jerusalem. Since the beginning of 2018, 27 children from Azzun have been arrested. Many non-governmental organizations accuse Israel of not acting in accordance with the International Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Sheep, Soldiers and Settlers

EAs also provide a protective presence for individuals or groups whose human rights are threatened. This can mean accompanying shepherds who are scared to take their herds to certain lands because of fear of violence. Sometimes EAs can prevent possible human rights violations with their presence.

One EA describes accompanying a shepherd, arriving to be with his family before dusk.

The summer sun eases its relentless midday scorch and the temperature becomes bearable for human and animal life. About half a year ago, the shepherd we meet was attacked by a gang of settlers who mauled him, killed five of his sheep and stole 30 of them. Their message was simple: do not come too close to the settlement. The shepherd has since changed the area where he takes his animals in fear of another attack. The perpetrators have not been caught and he has not received any compensation for his losses. Due to risk of violence, he welcomed us to accompany him for the night.

As we walk, a white van on the road overlooking the hill appears and stops. The shepherd tells us that the same van comes every night and the driver follows him with his binoculars. He finds it unsettling and disturbing. We continue to climb up and down the hill, stopping occasionally to let the sheep and goats graze on the dry weeds that grow out of the rocky earth. As the sun sets, we return to the shepherd’s house. He thanks us, and tells that he felt safer with us accompanying him and, because of our presence, he was able to take his herd further than usual.

“Yes, it’s a bed”

Another EA also describes accompanying a shepherd.

We are based in South Hebron Hills and much of our time is devoted to protective presence work with shepherds, and this includes sleepovers.

We had agreed to do a sleepover for a shepherd, whose dwelling is quite close to a settlement and some distance from the village, so he and his family are quite isolated. There had recently been increased harassment, and they were anxious about their safety.

As night fell the shepherd asked us: “Do you have problems with dew?” We were led outside and shown a large trailer filled with bedding. I realised then what he meant by “dew”. We climbed up on to the trailer feeling much indulged at having so much space to ourselves.

After 20 minutes, the two children (aged 3 and 4 years) were hoisted up. Then Mum climbed up to join us – making five in the bed. “Okay,” I thought.

Bedding was thrown down for the husband, and he bedded down for the night on a large flat rock nearby.

We were finally able to settle and as I lay on my back looking up at the starry night, Mum swept her arm skywards and said “beautiful”. And despite all the turmoil and difficulties that mark Occupied Palestine, I had to agree (and there were no unwanted intrusions that night).

The WCC-EAPPI was created in 2002 by the WCC based on a letter and an appeal from local church leaders to create an international presence in the country.

EAPPI provides a continuous presence of 25-30 Ecumenical Accompaniers, who serve in the field for three months in accompanying local people and communities, offering protective presence, and witnessing their daily struggles and hopes. EAPPI is guided by “principled impartiality”: it takes no side in the conflict nor discriminates against anyone, but it is not neutral in terms of human rights and respect for international humanitarian law.

]]>No publisherEcumenical AccompanierJusticeAndPeaceSolidarity with churches in the Middle EastEAPPIFellowPilgrimsHuman dignity2018-10-09T12:10:00ZNews ItemPreaching in Toronto about the Pope’s visit to Genevahttps://blog.oikoumene.org/posts/preaching-in-toronto-about-the-popes-visit-to-geneva
When I was asked to preach recently, it seemed obvious that I would speak about the visit of Pope Francis to Geneva in June at the invitation of the World Council of Churches. This would give me the opportunity to talk about ecumenism with people who might not be familiar with either the word or the concept. It would also be the chance to draw attention to the 70-year quest by the WCC for practical ecumenism, that is to say an ecumenism that is about Christians working together to love their neighbour and care for creation.When I was asked to preach recently at a service of the French-language ministry of the United Church of Canada in Toronto, it seemed obvious that I would speak about the visit of Pope Francis to Geneva in June at the invitation of the World Council of Churches. This would give me the opportunity to talk about ecumenism with people who might not be familiar with either the word or the concept. It would also be the chance to draw attention to the 70-year quest by the WCC for practical ecumenism, that is to say an ecumenism that is about Christians working together to love their neighbour and care for creation.

The challenge lay in how to make the pope’s visit and what it signified, resonate and connect with this group of assembled worshippers.

The members of the French-language ministry come in the majority from the Église evangélique du Cameroun with a few from other francophone African countries and a French family. On the day I spoke, several representatives from the English language congregation that hosts the francophone group attended the service. There was also a Lutheran pastor present and my cousin, a former Catholic religious. So this was de facto an ecumenical gathering but what would the pope’s visit to Geneva mean to them?

On a mid-summer Sunday there were 70 adults and more than a dozen children present for the service, which was followed by a barbecue. Shown here: Pastor Isaac Kamta and Kristine Greenaway.Photo: French Protestant Ministry of Toronto

I found my way into the story thanks to a conversation with my Catholic cousin on the Saturday evening prior to the service. The pope was in Ireland at the time and the media were featuring stories about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. My cousin told me I couldn’t ignore that or the sermon would not sound authentic to the people present who would be aware of those stories.

At first I regretted that the flare-up of the controversy had happened just when I was to speak about the pope and what his visit means to ecumenism. But then I began to see how this was in fact an opportunity to talk about practical ecumenism at the local level in times of trouble.

The text I was preaching on was Ephesians 4: 11-13 where Paul tells the new Christian community in Ephesus to look at the different gifts given to them by Christ for the work of ministry. The gifts include being prophets, pastors, and teachers. And so I spoke about how Christians are called to share their strengths and insights with each other when they confront problems in their communities and that this collaboration is an expression of ecumenism. I noted that other churches, including our own, had problems with sexual abuse by clergy and that, by meeting with Catholics, we could learn how to admit to this legacy and work to overcome it.

Pope Francis talks about practical ecumenism, about Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants serving our communities together so I went on to point to the stories I had gathered from people from around the world who were in Geneva at the time of the papal visit. Their stories are testimonies to what the visit meant to their local ecumenical efforts in Indonesia, in Russia, and among the Samoan community in New Zealand. In particular, I noted the story of the Lutheran and Catholic parishes in Geneva who had joined together to study the pope’s encyclical on the environment and human ecology “Laudato Si’” when it was published in 2015. The Lutheran pastor’s hope is that the pope’s visit will breathe renewed energy into that local expression of ecumenism.

But it was when I spoke about the pope’s encounter with a United Church of Canada minister that people sat upright in their pews and looked at me in wide-eyed wonder. Rev. Miriam Spies, who is a WCC central committee member and who has cerebral palsy, was presented to Pope Francis following the prayer service at the Ecumenical Centre. As he bent to greet her, he said: “Please pray for me.” That a Catholic pontiff should ask a female Protestant minister for her prayers was, in and of itself, remarkable. Perhaps equally as important is that he was asking for the prayers of someone in a wheelchair. Miriam told me later that she was used to church leaders telling her – sometimes patronisingly – that they would pray for her. But here was a church leader asking for her prayers!

Rev. Miriam Spies, WCC Central Committee member and United Church of Canada minister, was introduced to the pope following the prayer service at the Ecumenical Centre. Photo: Magnus Aronson/WCC

Speaking to a congregation of my own church about the symbols and gestures that bring ecumenism to life at the local level is one way that I can celebrate the lifelong process of ecumenical learning experienced as “pilgrims on the way”. WCC has been on that route for 70 years. The way is ever more challenging but visits such as that of the pope give us food for the road.

]]>No publisherKristine GreenawayChristian UnityFellowPilgrimsjust community of women and menspiritual life2018-09-05T15:40:00ZNews ItemAssembled by faith, united in Christ, strengthened by Godhttps://blog.oikoumene.org/posts/assembled-by-faith-united-in-christ-strengthened-by-god
This week we continue celebrating the foundation of the World Council of Churches at the Amsterdam Assembly in 1948. Since its founding 70 years ago, the WCC has held assemblies in Evanston, New Delhi, Uppsala, Nairobi, Vancouver, Canberra, Harare, Porto Alegre and Busan. This reflection was originally presented during morning prayers in the chapel of the Ecumenical Centre, on 27 August 2018.

Bible readings: 1 Kings 8, Ephesians 6:10-20, John 6:56-69

Assembled by faith, united in Christ, strengthened by God

This week we continue celebrating the foundation of the World Council of Churches at the Amsterdam Assembly in 1948. Since its founding 70 years ago, the WCC has held assemblies in Evanston, New Delhi, Uppsala, Nairobi, Vancouver, Canberra, Harare, Porto Alegre and Busan.

Assemblies of the World Council of Churches are significant events. They are incredible celebrations of faith, hope and love. Each assembly has been a unique witness to the gift of unity in Christ. Each assembly has expressed the urgent need for solidarity in action for justice and peace.

My first WCC assembly was Harare, where I was responsible for the web site. I was also in Porto Alegre and Busan, where I was responsible for the overall coordination of both gatherings.

Assemblies may be historic, but as many of us know, they are also a lot of hard work and take a long time to prepare. We invest a tremendous amount of time, energy and resources, not to mention expectations, in our ecumenical gatherings.

I am thankful for the opportunity to reflect this morning on why it is important to come together – to be assemble as people of faith – in prayer as we are assembled here this morning; in consultation to strengthen justice and peace in Palestine and Israel for which some of us are gathered this week; in anticipation of the ACT Alliance assembly in October for which some of us are busy preparing; or even looking ahead to 2021 and the next WCC assembly in Karlsruhe.

The lectionary readings this week – from First Kings, the Gospel of John and the Letter to the Ephesians – help to remind us why assemblies are important.

As people of faith, we assemble not simply to be together, not simply to celebrate and to pray. Of course we come together for all these good reasons, but our assemblies are more than that. We are assembled by faith in response to God’s steadfast love.

King Solomon knew how to organize assemblies. He chose the right venue for his time – Jerusalem. He assembled the right people for his time – the elders, the heads of the tribes and the leaders of the ancestral houses.

He prepared a really amazing procession for any time – bringing the arc of the covenant to its place, in the inner sanctuary, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim; where a great cloud appeared and the glory of the Lord filled the house.

Solomon delivered a powerful key-note address declaring “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart”.

And he gave a memorable charge to the Jerusalem assembly, reminding the leaders of Israel of the importance of welcoming strangers – foreigners from distant lands who would come to worship – so that all the people of the earth may know the name of the Lord and his amazing love for all creation.

The story from First Kings commemorates the dedication of the temple under the leadership of Solomon. Unpacking how the story has been told over the centuries could take days. This morning it reminds us that when we come together, we are assemble by faith in the presence of Lord.

WCC 1st Assembly in Amsterdam, 1948. Photo: WCC

As a fellowship of churches, the WCC organizes assemblies every 8 years not simply to elect a central committee and set direction for the future. Of course we meet to fulfil these constitutional objectives, but assemblies are more than that. The WCC comes together as a fellowship of churches, assembled by faith and united in Christ to bear witness to a world in need of care.

For the past 4 weeks in our lectionary readings, we have been journeying with the disciples as they come to understand what it means to abide in Christ and to know God’s gift of faith.

The lesson began 4 weeks ago when Jesus fed a crowd of 5000 hungry people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes. Everyone who came to that seaside assembly in Galilee was impressed by the miracle, but no one seemed to understand what it meant.

Jesus explained, saying, “I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never be hungry, whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Agian the disciples did not understand.

Jesus continued teaching, saying, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world”. “Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.” “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”

Not only did the disciples still not understand, some of them complained it was too difficult, questioning “who can accept it?” Jesus knew it was not easy. He knew that faith was not the conclusion of reason, but a gift from God.

Jesus closed the Galilee assembly with a much smaller crowd saying, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father”. The faithful who remained confessed “we have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God”.

There is a strong contrast in the Gospel of John between spirit and flesh, between what is from God and what is not from God. “To receive God’s gift of faith is to know God in Christ; to refuse it is to become an ally of the devil.”

The message is echoed in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Paul says that “our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh; but against rulers, against authorities, against cosmic powers of the present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places”.

Paul reminds us there is something bigger at stake than flesh and blood. We are engaged in a spiritual struggle for abundant life in Christ. This is not a battle of the sword for the survival of the fittest. This is a battle of truth for the sake of righteousness and peace for all creation.

Jesus was trying to help his disciples understand that the “Son of Man would ascend to where he was before”. He was trying to prepare them for what he knew was coming. He yearned for their unity in love and faith.

On the eve of his arrest, Jesus prayed for the unity of his believers. He prayed on behalf of his disciples, “but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word”, which is us here today. He prayed that we may be one, as Christ is one with the Father, so that the world may believe in God’s amazing love for all creation.

An assembly of the World Council of Churches may be the largest most representative gathering of its kind, but the value of an assembly is not measured in how many people attend or even in how diverse the gathering may be. Similarly, the value of our ecumenical gatherings is not measured by the force of the statements that we publish.

Rather the value of coming together ecumenically in prayer, in consultation, in an assembly is measured by our faithfulness, by our unity in Christ and by the character of our strength in the Lord.

We seem to be celebrating a lot of anniversaries this year. 70 years since Amsterdam. 50 years since the Uppsala. 20 years since Harare. But we are also remembering 70 years of the occupation in Palestine. 50 years since the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr and Robert Kennedy for challenging racism.

More than ever we called to testify to the abundant life we experience in Christ and to God’s amazing love for all creation. The cosmic powers of the present darkness and the spiritual forces of evil are very truly real.

We are assembled by faith to stand firm in the Lord and together in Christ. We are assembled to speak truth to power and to overcome evil with love through the Gospel of peace, so that God’s will may be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Amen.

]]>No publisherDoug ChialChristian Unitytransformedspiritual lifePilgrimsOnTheMove2018-08-27T12:35:00ZNews ItemPrayerful patience as Zimbabwe waits for election resultshttps://blog.oikoumene.org/posts/prayerful-patience-as-zimbabwe-waits-for-election-results
I participated as an international observer in the Zimbabwe 2018 harmonised elections, representing the World Council of Churches. I am very impressed with the work of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches.I participated as an international observer in the Zimbabwe 2018 harmonised elections (an election for President, Parliament and local councils) representing the World Council of Churches (WCC) and joining participants from the Church of Sweden, the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), and South Africa to support the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) in their work.

There has been huge interest in the election and many people, including the European Union, the United Nations, the Commonwealth, the United States and the Southern African Development Community have all sent observer missions.

The ZCC is highly regarded for their input in the process. Their campaign – I pray, I vote – has helped mobilise people in the churches to exercise their right to vote.

In visiting polling stations on Election Day, the process seemed to run smoothly and be conducted carefully according to the rules. We saw no violence, but rather people who were willing to come out early and sometimes wait for a considerable time to exercise their right to vote.

Polling was from 7 am to 7 pm and the country is now awaiting the result. The Electoral Commission must publish a result within five days, but I would hope for it quicker than that.

At the press conference this morning, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chair indicated that in many districts counting was already complete (for the Presidential vote) and each polling place then posts the result at their station. This means that some are already doing informal tallying, but the ZCC is urging that people remain prayerfully patient as we wait for the official result to be announced.

I am very impressed with the work of the ZCC and the way they have organised the gathering and monitoring of information. They have done a great job and other African leaders from the AACC who are part of the delegation of international observers say that they have learned valuable lessons on how the churches can engage in the election process. The ZCC have been wonderful hosts and seem genuinely appreciative of having the international solidarity of church partners from around the world.

The situation remains tense. Not everyone will accept the results. The ZCC continues to ask for prayers for Zimbabwe, to call for peace and calm and to look for a coordinated platform for solutions to the political problems that the country will face in the coming days. Please keep Zimbabwe in your prayers.

Rev. Dr Andrew Williams WCC Observer

]]>No publisherAndrew WilliamsWhereWillYouGotransformedJusticeAndPeace2018-07-31T16:35:00ZNews ItemWe pray and hope, for Zimbabwe's electionshttps://blog.oikoumene.org/posts/we-pray-and-hope-for-zimbabwes-elections
Kerstin Pihl and Sven Eckerdal are currently in Zimbabwe to monitor the first election to take place since Robert Mugabe was forced to leave power in November 2017. Here comes a first snapshot of the situation in the country.Kerstin Pihl and Sven Eckerdal are currently in Zimbabwe to monitor the first election to take place since Robert Mugabe was forced to leave power in November 2017. Here comes a first snapshot of the situation in the country.

The cars roll along Harare’s busy avenues. Election campaign adverts featuring a smiling president promise a bright future if he receives a mandate to rule - a stark contrast to the begging children. Young children, ages around 4-10, mingle among the cars and reach out a hand when the cars slow at junctions or stop at red lights. This is a country that became a new, independent nation in 1980: Zimbabwe, where pride and hope gave the people the energy to work for a better future. Unfortunately, the resulting struggle for power and wealth impoverished the country and the people have lived in fear, with the majority living on no more than USD 5 per day.

President Mugabe relinquished power in November and there will be elections for the president, parliament and local councils on 30 July.

We are working here on behalf of the Church of Sweden and the Zimbabwe Christian Council. We are a group of 20 people from different churches who, together with local church members, will act as election observers. 80 percent of Zimbabweans attend regular services of worship and the Christian Council has launched a campaign called I pray I vote. As Christians, we have a responsibility in society to ensure it is a good society for everyone.

“The great commitment is making a big impression. Election night prayers will be held in many churches. The Christian Council has organized education in democracy and human rights. It is important that we all take responsibility for creating a peaceful and good society,” says the Christian Council.

It is exciting to be here and follow the election and carry out this work.

Many people say they are hoping for change, but they at the same time wonder if there really will be any change. 38 years of misrule have made them resigned to their fates. The “I pray I vote” campaign wants to provide hope and the courage to participate in a democratic society.

]]>No publisherKerstin Pihl & Sven Eckerdal human rightsFellowPilgrimsjust community of women and menJusticeAndPeace2018-07-30T15:40:00ZNews ItemWater and the human right to foodhttps://blog.oikoumene.org/posts/water-and-the-human-right-to-food
Water is a key resource both to provide drinking water and to generate food and energy for a growing world population. A fifth of the global population lives in regions affected by water stress - in regions where more water is used than can naturally be recharged. Water is a key resource both to provide drinking water and to generate food and energy for a growing world population. A fifth of the global population lives in regions affected by water stress - in regions where more water is used than can naturally be recharged.

On 28 July 2010, through Resolution 64/292, the United Nations General Assembly explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that "clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realisation of all human rights."

And the Policy Recommendations of the Committee on Food Security on “Water for Food Security and Nutrition” of 2015 states:

“Water is the lifeblood of ecosystems on which the food security and nutrition of present and future generations depend. Water of appropriate quality and quantity is essential for food production (fisheries, crops and livestock), processing, transformation and preparation.”

Access to water is unequal and leads to conflicts

However, the current statistics demonstrate that water stress levels are increasing worldwide. If we go on with our way of living, by mid century, close to half of the world’s population will live in areas affected by water stress. Sustainable Development (SDG) Goal 6 "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all" is under review at this year's High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York.

In many regions, water scarcity is caused by poor water governance and mismanagement of natural resources and the destruction of ecosystems. Often, the handling of water resources is driven by sectoral water demands, which may - especially in areas of water scarcity – lead to conflicts over water resources. Irrigation agriculture is a main factor – using 70% of the available freshwater resources worldwide. Already today, water stress exacerbates competition for water amongst user groups and threatens livelihoods and the right to food of subsistence farmers and small farmers worldwide.

Inequalities in access to water can be found not only between industrialized and low income countries, but also within countries between urban and rural, rich and poor populations. The inequalities are tremendous and must be eliminated.

SDG 6 at the High Level Political Forum

On the occasion of the first SDG 6 Monitoring Report, Bread for the World, together with the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany and the Permanent Mission of Germany to the UN, organized a side-event during the HLPF: “Sustainable Use of Waters – Precondition for a World without Hunger The implementation of SDG 6.4 Water use and scarcity and its link to the human Right to Food.” The distinguished panel included Gilbert F. Houngbo, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development and chair of UN-Water, who presented the report. The World Council of Churches Ecumenical Water Network (WCC-EWN) was represented by coordinator Dinesh Suna. To widen the perspective to include the nexus with food security, Stineke Oenema, coordinator of the UN Standing Committee on Nutrition, was invited. In addition, Dr Inga Winkler, director of Undergraduate Studies for the Human Rights Program, Columbia University, strengthened the human rights focus of our discussion.

The introductory speech was delivered by Dr Ingolf Dietrich, commissioner for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development. The success of the side event very much depended on Dr Uschi Eid, former chair of the United Nations Secretary General Advisory Board for Water&Sanitation, who facilitated the event.

Some of the main results of the discussions are:

Trade in virtual water and the water footprints of industrialized agriculture

For water scarce countries, virtual water trade - which here means import - is a major option to reduce their domestic water use. However, many countries experiencing high levels of water stress are still net virtual water exporters - like Pakistan or India. A study "Water Foot Print of European Agricultural Imports" that was commissioned by Bread for the World to the Technical University of Berlin clearly substantiates this situation.

Export production and irrigation agriculture significantly contribute to increasing levels of water stress. This may lead to conflicts over water resources and can be affecting food systems in a negative way. Also, this can lead to discrimination of vulnerable populations.

And even in water rich countries, in certain regions, local communities are more and more struggling to have access to water to grow food - for instance in Brazil or in Mozambique. We at Bread for the World together with our partner organizations support local communities worldwide to fight for their right to water and to food.

We call on the international community and especially major virtual water importing countries, such as the European Union or Japan, to take the lead and address the negative impacts of excessive water extraction within global production chains of industrialized agriculture.

We need increased international support to help countries and local communities to reconstruct water bodies and assure adequate water provision to vulnerable populations, including subsistence agriculture in rural areas as well as in peri-urban settings.

The human right to water and the engagement of civil society

A human rights based approach in water governance is necessary. However, it is not enough to have the right to water in the constitution to achieve water security. More has to be done. The respective communities have to be involved and their customary water rights have to be acknowledged. The effective participation of non-state actors and especially representatives of vulnerable populations such as smallholder farmers and fishing communities will be critical in the monitoring of the right to water and specifically of SDG 6.

The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) is a successful model of engaging various stakeholder groups and the foremost inclusive international and intergovernmental platform for all stakeholders to work together to ensure food security and nutrition for all. The stakeholders – besides the governments, are organised in a civil society mechanism and the private sector mechanism. Using a multi-stakeholder, inclusive approach, CFS develops and endorses policy recommendations and guidance on a wide range of food security and nutrition topics.

This structure allows for effective participation and meaningful contribution for civil society to its overall decisions and recommendations. Many of our partner organizations, including social movements, participate in the annual meetings of the CFS and its various intersectional work streams.

We call on governments, particularly our own government, to continue their support of this unique structure, especially since we know that the active involvement of civil society in policy spaces is not always wanted and civil society space is shrinking, if we don’t fight for it.

A UN Conference on Water

Since there is no UN structure, yet, that deals with water issues, one should at least think of a UN Water Conference similar to the UN Oceans Conference held in 2017 right before the HLPF.

The UN should prepare a serious conference for global water management. Different actors from the state level to UN agencies, science and civil society organizations, should be invited to contribute and share concepts and best practices in monitoring and implementing the human right to water and SDG 6.

In the future, we need ideas for creating a structure for a policy space and processes with governments, civil society and other stakeholders, where the achievement of SDG 6 and the realization of the human right to water can be inclusively discussed and promoted.

]]>No publisherLuise Steinwachshuman rightsPilgrimFocusFoodPilgrimsOnTheMoveJusticeAndPeacewaterHuman dignity2018-07-24T09:44:18ZNews ItemYouth involvement requires trust, mutual support and formationhttps://blog.oikoumene.org/posts/youth-involvement-requires-trust-mutual-support-and-formation
Youth participation in the World Council of Churches (WCC) brings a lot of challenges ahead of the young people involved in the ecumenical movement. It is possible to find reflections about the lack of participation of young people in WCC since the first assembly. Youth participation in the World Council of Churches (WCC) brings a lot of challenges ahead of the young people involved in the ecumenical movement. It is possible to find reflections about the lack of participation of young people in WCC since the first assembly.

Youth participation is still an issue raised by youth leaders from the Central Committee, the ECHOS Commission, and people who believe that this is not a future concern, but a relationship that needs to be stimulated and improved every day.

The youth participants present at the Central Committee of the WCC believe that there aren’t many young people joining the ecumenical movement due to concerns about theological and ecumenical formation, a relationship based on trust and, most of all, the fact that churches need to see young people as potential leaders and decision-makers.

Living the fellowship through a youth perspective means building bridges between different generations, acknowledging the power of passion and engagement that young people can hold in order to change the reality, and understanding the new challenges faced nowadays.

The youth present at Central Committee believe the young people are socially aware of the issues, and it’s necessary to involve them in the Pilgrimage for Justice and Peace by talking about practical situations.

The youth engagement is achieved once there is mutual trust between the young people and the churches, by providing information, ecumenical formation, and by calling young leaders to represent churches in WCC.

The stewards are young participants who can learn about the ecumenical movement and create a network inside the WCC fellowship.

Lidia Lebang from Indonesia will study at the Ecumenical Institute at Château de Bossey in order to help young Indonesians who are being radicalized by fundamentalist religious groups.

ECHOS is the youth representative commission that strengthens networking, communication, and ecumenical formation for young people.

Young people can bring different contextual experiences and contribute to promoting the unity between generations.

]]>No publisherRenato ValengaYouthFellowPilgrimstransformed2018-06-29T15:10:00ZNews ItemVAMP for a day – or my media pilgrimage with Pope Francis to Genevahttps://blog.oikoumene.org/posts/vamp-for-a-day-or-my-media-pilgrimage-with-pope-francis-to-geneva
When Pope Francis landed in Geneva slightly after 10am local time on 21 June for his visit to the World Council of Churches in an Alitalia plane with a discreet papal coat of arms, he was accompanied by a 60-strong contingent of journalists collectively known as the “VAMP,” for Vatican Accredited Media Personnel.When Pope Francis landed in Geneva slightly after 10am local time on 21 June for his visit to the World Council of Churches (WCC) in an Alitalia plane with a discreet papal coat of arms, he was accompanied by a 60-strong contingent of journalists collectively known as the “VAMP,” for Vatican Accredited Media Personnel.

Representing news agencies, television and radio stations, and newspapers, the journalists included long-standing Vatican correspondents for whom the trip to Geneva was simply their latest papal journey.

Others were first-timers – some, such as myself, on the flight because of the papal destination to Geneva and the WCC. It was, for me, my personal “ecumenical pilgrimage” to Geneva with Pope Francis.

On arrival at Geneva airport, as the pope descended from the front of the plane to be met by a red carpet and a military guard, the VAMP left the plane from the rear.

A small contingent of VAMP boarded a minibus for the nearby Ecumenical Centre, where the WCC has its headquarters, to be present at the ecumenical prayer service with Pope Francis and WCC leaders, including moderator Agnes Abuom and general secretary Olav Fykse Tveit.

The others were ferried in blue coaches to the VAMP press centre set up for the day by the WCC immediately behind the main building – the first time, I think, I had travelled to the Ecumenical Centre with a police escort.

Once at the press centre, a hasty but good-natured scramble ensued for a workplace, a socket and Internet access. Then, with laptop screens up, frantic typing by dozens of journalists to get their copy sent before being taken out of the press centre by Vatican minders less than 90 minutes later, to board buses to the next appointment, this time at the WCC’s Ecumenical Institute, in the Swiss countryside about 20 kilometres away from Geneva.

While some of the VAMP were able to follow an exchange of gifts between the pope and WCC leaders, others had a stand-up buffet before a press conference with Tveit and the Vatican’s chief ecumenical official, Cardinal Kurt Koch. Then back on the buses for the Ecumenical Centre where Pope Francis would deliver a formal address, and Geneva’s Palexpo exhibition centre for a closing Mass.

The day began for me with an alarm set for 3:30am followed by a taxi and check in two hours later at an almost deserted Fiumicino airport in Rome. Happily, once through the airport security, the first coffee shops had already opened to allow a swift expresso and an Italian pastry.

At the coffee shop at the boarding gate, journalists began to huddle around according to various national or linguistic groups.

Some speculated about what Pope Francis would say in his meetings at the WCC. Journalists from France chatted about French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the Vatican that was to take place five days later. German journalists might have been focused on a document by the country’s Roman Catholic bishops about communion for non-Catholic spouses of Catholics. Each was seeking an angle for their readers or viewers.

As we boarded to be seated in the section reserved for media at the rear of the plane, each of us was given an envelope containing the speeches and addresses for the day under embargo until they were delivered.

Once on board, cabin staff offered us a specially printed folder with details and a map of the papal flight, a breakfast box, and a selection of newspapers. These included the Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano, with the headline “Pellegrino ecumenico” (Italian for “ecumenical pilgrimage”) – no mistaking then the news of the day as far as the Vatican was concerned.

Photographers and camera personnel set up their equipment inside the cabin ready to record Pope Francis, when he appeared in the media section of the cabin about 35 minutes into the 90-minute flight.

The trip, said Pope Francis, speaking in Italian, “is a journey toward unity, with the desire for unity.”

He thanked the media for their work, before making his way down the central aisle of the plane to greet each journalist individually. Some offered him a gift, others asked for a prayer, while the pope posed for photographs and “selfies.”

We had already picked up from the Press Office of the Holy See the previous day not only our accreditation and badges for the trip, but the all-important “work book.” This set out the media schedule with almost military-style minute-by-minute precision, and details of which journalists would be present at which events, and which would follow proceedings on the screens in the various press rooms.

Often the programme calls for VAMP to leave one event before it ends to be present and installed at the next before the pope’s arrival.

Some VAMP – especially from print media – acknowledge that if they only wanted to follow the proceedings, it might be more straightforward to stay at home or the office, and watch the trip on television or via livestreaming.

But belonging to the media contingent offers opportunities to get a feel for how a visit is going, to try and catch an aside, to be privy to any briefings during the programme, and to share in the camaraderie of being part of a larger group. And a dateline from the destination offers authenticity to the reports.

Being part of the VAMP also means being present at the now traditional press conference on the return flight to Rome, and maybe even being one of the few chosen to ask a direct question of the pope.

This time, the first question came from Switzerland. What images, important or powerful moments struck Pope Francis the most during the day in Geneva and Switzerland.

“It was a day of encounters,” said Pope Francis, speaking again in Italian. “The right word for the day is encounter, and when a person encounters another and feels pleased with the encounter, this always touches the heart.”

He was asked about the paper by the German Roman Catholic bishops on communion for non-Catholic spouses, refugees and migrants, and whether it was time for the Roman Catholic Church to join with “peace churches” to set aside the theory of “just war.”

The Pope finished the half-hour press conference with a spontaneous comment: “I would just like to say one word clearly: that today was an ecumenical day, truly ecumenical.”

When the plane touched down at about 9:30pm local time at Rome’s Ciampino airport, the day was not ended for the VAMP. Instead, they scurried through customs to find taxis and cars to take them back to the city to file their stories of the final press conference on the plane.

]]>No publisherStephen BrowncommunicationFellowPilgrimstransformedWhereWillYouGo2018-06-28T10:35:00ZNews ItemMatilde gives drawing to Pope Francis, surrounding him with lovehttps://blog.oikoumene.org/posts/matilde-gives-drawing-to-pope-francis-surrounding-him-with-love
As Pope Francis visited the World Council of Churches in Geneva on 21 June, five-year-old Matilde Colombo gave him a drawing with a message of love.As Pope Francis visited the World Council of Churches in Geneva on 21 June, five-year-old Matilde Colombo gave him a drawing with a message of love.

With one side full of hearts, and the other showing Matilde and the Pope together surrounded by hearts, Matilde gave her drawing to the Pope after a prayer service opening the Pope’s visit, held under the theme of “Walking, Praying and Working together”.

“I gave him the drawing because he is a really good person and he has a big heart,” Matilde says. “He loves many people, and he loves me as well.”

Matilde, who was diagnosed with Leukemia ALL in December 2017, is currently going through treatment and attended the prayer together with her mother Francesca Merico, coordinator of the WCC Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance HIV Campaign.

”I’ve used to say I’m a passionate advocate for children’s rights and their access to medical treatment,” says Merico, reflecting on the meaning of the moment with the Pope, “but since M. received her diagnosis, I can also say I’m a desperate advocate for the right to treatment and care.”

”M. is such a star,” she says. ”She is suffering many of the known side-effects of her treatment, but she takes it with such strength. She is a special girl full of love.”

“Whenever we say ‘Our Father’, we feel an echo within us of our being sons and daughters, but also of our being brothers and sisters. Prayer is the oxygen of ecumenism,” reflected Pope Francis on the day.

As Matilde had handed him her drawing, the Pope leaned down to kiss her on the head, before the two said farewell.

]]>No publisherAlbin Hillert2018-06-24T14:41:56ZNews ItemRamadan and Eid Al Fitr: drawing closer to God through prayer and praisehttps://blog.oikoumene.org/posts/ramadan-and-eid-al-fitr-drawing-closer-to-god-through-prayer-and-praise
For many Muslims the focus this month has really been praise: prayer, recitation of sacred texts, meditation and contemplation. Anything which nourishes my connection with the Divine.

When the World Council of Churches Assembly in 2013 called for a pilgrimage of justice and peace, it explicitly addressed not only Christians but invited people of good will everywhere to join. It recognized the gifts our interfaith partners have received from God and challenged them to engage them in transforming actions. That's why, alongside our tradition of offering greetings to inter-religious partners during major festivals, we have started inviting scholars and believers from different traditions to reflect on those festivals from the perspective of justice and peace.

It’s almost time to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid al Fitr*. This comes after the month of Ramadan in which many Muslims fast from the acts of eating, drinking and sexual activity during daylight hours, and intensify in their charitable work. This is intended to soften our hearts to the situation of others, and importantly: heighten our awareness of our inner dialogue, outward actions, and ultimately pull us into closer communication with the Divine.

Rumi proclaimed:

“O moon-faced Beloved,

the month of Ramadan has arrived

Cover the table

and open the path of praise.”

For me (as for many Muslims) the focus this month has really been praise: prayer, recitation of sacred texts, meditation and contemplation. Anything which nourishes my connection with the Divine. Without the distraction of the outer acts of drinking and eating, I am able to bring my focus more firmly to my inner life. This time of the year year always makes me conscious of how much of my day is centered around consumption of some sort. The requirement to suspend this is like a new found freedom.

“The lips of the Master are parched

from calling the Beloved.

The sound of your call resounds

through the horn of your empty belly.”

As the end draws near, my heart is always sad. This is because there is a very sweet quality to this month. The fasting tends to slow me down and lead to gentler qualities being revealed, a real antidote to the fast paced existence most of us are forced to lead.

“Let nothing be inside you.

Be empty: give your lips to the lips of the reed.

When like a reed you fill with His breath,

then you’ll taste sweetness.”

This Ramadan, I have benefitted greatly from reflection on many of the attributes* of God. In particular, Ya Quddus (The Holy or Pure One) and Ya Wali (The Friend). I have found recitation of these names to really deepen my sense of connection with God as the Holy Friend. It has also allowed me to reflect on these qualities of unadulterated purity and deep friendship, how these are manifested in the holy friends of God such as the Prophet Muhammad and Mary (may peace and blessings be upon them both), and how I might in my own humble way seek to embody them.

“Sweetness is hidden in the Breath

that fills the reed.

Be like Mary – by that sweet breath

a child grew within her.”

I look forward to the three days of Eid. It will begin with prayer as we give thanks for the spiritual gifts bestowed during Ramadan which we hope to take forward into the year ahead. For me it will be a joyful time passed with family and friends.

***

Explanatory notes:

Eid al Fitr literally means “festival of breaking the fast”

Rumi is a well known and much loved 13th century Muslim scholar of Afghan origin. The poetry is all from Rumi.

In Islamic tradition, it is held that God has at least 99 names (referred to also as “qualities” or “attributes”. Many of which are revealed in the Quran. These are held by some Muslims to be portals for deep connection with the Divine Reality.